At the ART in Cambridge, 'Witness Uganda' asks pivotal question

Saturday

Jan 25, 2014 at 12:30 PMJan 26, 2014 at 5:06 PM

By Alexander StevensCorrespondent

When Griffin Matthews flew off to Uganda in 2005, he had no idea he'd return with a sense of purpose, a love life and a musical.The sense of purpose came when Matthews, in Uganda as an aid worker, became an impromptu teacher, instructing a small group of kids who could not afford to go to school.The love life came when Matthews, years later, met Matt Gould, a Boston University grad who had been to Africa as part of the Peace Corps. They shared their experiences and developed a bond that began as professional and eventually turned romantic.And the musical is "Witness Uganda," the largely autobiographical story of an aid worker who emotionally adopts a handful of students in Uganda and then commits himself to changing their lives. The world premiere performance of "Witness Uganda" runs Feb. 4 to March 16 at the American Repertory Theater's Loeb Drama Center, in Cambridge."I asked them what they wanted, and they said they wanted to go to school," says Matthews, remembering his first interaction with the kids in Uganda who would change his life. "So we started meeting for classes. I thought it would be for a few days, but the next thing I knew, six weeks had gone by. I had formed a friendship with them, I'd even go so far as to say it was love. When I flew back to New York, I knew I had to get them into school."That was the start of Project Uganda, a nonprofit dedicated to educating students in Uganda.Eventually, Matthews met Matt Gould; mutual friends knew they had a lot in common, including the fact that they both had studied theater and they had both been to Africa. At one point, soon after they met, Matthews started passionately telling Gould about his experiences in Uganda."Unbeknownst to me, he was recording the whole conversation, which I think is illegal," says Matthews, in a video that appears on the "Witness Uganda" website.But just because it's illegal, that doesn't mean it's not a good idea. The next day, Gould, who is a composer, had written and recorded a song that used Matthews' own voice and words as the lyrics.And then, in a moment that would have warmed the hearts of Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney, Matthews and Gould thought, "Hey, let's put on a show!"The idea was that they could write songs about the kids in Uganda and use it as a springboard for a benefit concert. They planned a 20-minute performance and rented a space in New York's Theater District."We thought we'd do the concert and go home," says Matthews.Fate had other ideas.The show sold out and they added another. Best of all, the response to the music and the story had been emotional, prompting patrons to ask, "What can I do to help?" Matthews and Gould knew they had something. The spine of a bigger story. A musical.The resulting "Witness Uganda" follows a young man named Griffin who volunteers in Uganda. His experience there has life-changing consequences. Hmm, sounds familiar.But Matthews insists it's not a documentary."The show has been dramatized," he says. "It's not exactly what happened."But when asked how the Griffin in the show is different than Griffin the actor, Matthews struggles. "Well, I've noticed that Griffin in the show is impulsive," he says, then pauses. "But I guess I'm impulsive, too!"The next big break – no, huge break – for the show came in 2012, in the form of an inconspicuous little letter in the mail."It said we had won a Richard Rogers Award," says Matthews, who now lives with Gould in Los Angeles. "The letter was signed by Stephen Sondheim. I'm not going to lie: We were shocked. We were literally holding it up to the light to see if it was forged."Richard Rogers Awards support the development of new musicals. Past winners include American musical legends such as Maury Yeston, Julie Taymor and Jonathan Larson.That kind of recognition no doubt helps when the musical lands on the desk of Diane Paulus, artistic director at the American Repertory Theater and one of the hottest directors in the country right now."Yes, she's red-hot, but what's more important is that she's just really good and really smart," say Matthews. "She has great story-telling instincts. And she's so good at creating communities on stage. That's what she did with 'Hair,' 'Porgy and Bess' and 'Pippin.' And our show is about community. That's why she's the perfect director."A question hovers over the show: Can one person make a difference in the world?"I think it's possible," says Matthews. "But it depends on your perspective. I think Project Uganda has changed the lives of some of the kids. And I know they've changed me. And I'm in the world and they're in the world, so I think the answer is yes."And if Matthews had his doubts, he got a reminder recently, as he watched one of his students graduate from nursing school.He remembered asking that student, years ago, what she wanted to do with her life, and she said she thought she wanted to be a nurse.Matthews responded, "Yes, I think you should be a nurse."He had already seen her nursing instincts. When he visited patients, she sometimes had tagged along, which was rare and brave because there's still lots of medical misinformation in Uganda."So it was special to see her graduate from nursing school," says Matthews. "I had to cry a bit.""Witness Uganda"WHEN: Feb. 4 to March 16WHERE: American Repertory Theater's Loeb Drama Center, CambridgeTICKETS: Start at $25INFO: 617-547-8300; www.americanrepertorytheatre.org

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